A week or so ago I saw this article going around on Facebook. It talked about how movement breaks are so important for kids during the school day. You can read the full article HERE. So I got to thinking about my kids and ways to bring movement into speech. Something I love is yoga. Ok, I love yoga pants, but I really do like yoga too. The stretching, the breathing, the quiet…it is a great way to unwind and that is something my students need to do sometimes.
You can incorporate yoga into your speech sessions to give students the movement breaks they need and introduce them to something new. I have used yoga to work on following directions, recalling sequences, and verb tenses.
I like to use the Super Stretch app, it has 12 different yoga positions to choose from. What I really like is that the poses are demonstrated in video clips by kids. Some of them I modify for my kids if they have some physical restrictions, but it isn’t to bad. Some of the poses where they want you to sit or lay on the floor we just do in our chairs. Something that is also great about the app is that is it FREE! You can grab it from iTunes.
I want to leave you would a pose I have dubbed the ‘Serene Speechie‘:
– Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed.
– Take a deep, calming breath in.
– As you breath out, envision all your data charting, billing, and laminating being done.
– Repeat as needed until a feeling of calm and peace surround you.
Namaste 😉
4 Responses
Great Idea! I was just looking into a course on speechpathology.com about including yoga in speech. Love your ideas and can’t wait to try it this fall.
My kids do yoga at their school. At my school many classrooms do Skool Moves which has a lot of yoga and my self-contained classes do yoga moves every day. Great idea for the speech room too!
I have used the big ball for teaching front to back moment of the tongue. Have the student lay over the ball on his stomach. When the ball rocks forward the tongue moves to the front of the mouth. When you rock back the tongue moves to the back! They love this!
I love that idea!